South Korea’s leading tech giant Naver will debut innovative, Saudi-tailored artificial intelligence models during LEAP 2025 in Riyadh, launching on Sunday. Organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, LEAP ranks as the Middle East’s largest technology event globally, remarkably. This four-day conference attracts nearly 700 startups, more than 1,000 expert speakers, 1,800 tech brands, and 170,000 enthusiastic visitors internationally.
South Korean tech giant Naver will showcase AI technologies customized for Saudi Arabia at LEAP 2025 in Riyadh starting Sunday. Naver ranks among few global firms with a full AI value chain, covering data centers, cloud infrastructure, and AI technologies.
Innovations Tailored for the Kingdom
Naver’s LEAP 2025 theme is “AI for Saudi Arabia, Powered by Naver.” It highlights South Korean services adaptable for the Kingdom’s market. Featured innovations include an AI tutor and medical records service converting patient talks to text. Naver Works offers email summarization, translation, and generation.
“We aim to present AI models tailored for Saudi Arabia, ensuring the Kingdom maintains sovereign AI capabilities,” said Han Dong-geun, Naver’s PR officer. Naver warns that US and Chinese generative AI dominance threatens other nations’ tech independence, stressing sovereign AI’s importance.
HyperCLOVA X: A Model for Saudi AI
Naver’s HyperCLOVA X, a Korean LLM generating and understanding text, exemplifies a self-sufficient AI ecosystem for Saudi Arabia’s development. “We operate two data centers, possess cloud expertise, and LLM experience. We will showcase this value chain at LEAP 2025,” Han added.
“South Korea is the third country to develop its own LLM. We want to collaborate with Saudi Arabia to create a custom AI model preserving its sovereignty,” Han said.
Naver’s Growing Footprint in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia emerges as Naver’s key Middle East market, with the firm accelerating its regional expansion. In 2023, Naver secured a $100 million contract to build a digital twin platform. This software creates virtual replicas for real-time monitoring and scenario testing.
Last year, Naver signed an MoU with Aramco Digital and SDAIA for an Arabic LLM project. It also partnered with the National Housing Company for smart city initiatives.
Naver leads South Korea’s search engine and internet portal markets. Its portfolio spans cloud, AI, e-commerce, fintech, and digital content. Regulatory filings show a 2024 net income of $1.3 billion.
